Lesley Livingston - Wondrous Strange Trilogy 1 Wondrous Strange

What do you mean, promoted? Kelley Winslow felt her pulse

Sonny Flannery opened the French doors and stepped out onto

Kelley looked around the clearing, astonished, but the mysteriousand good-lookingguy

Sonny!

Exhausted, muddy, and soaked to the skin, Kelley kicked the

Out of this wood do not desire to go

Dont go in there! Tyff screeched at Kelley as she

The Avalon Grande turned out to be an old church

Kelley sighed a fairy queen sigh, and her head sank

The boucca had Sonny by the throat.

Kelley showered in the tiny bathroom attached to her dressing

Light blazed like fireworks exploding in the alleyway.

Standing before her apartment door, Kelley took a deep breath

Sonny dropped painfully to one knee to avoid having his

The Avalon was on fire, and there was nothing Kelley

From outside his immediate sphere of concentration, Sonny saw that

Kelley heard the whispered murmurings of a hushed and hurried

The Wild Hunt? Camina whispered. Who would do such a

Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania!

Sonny walked back to his apartment from the Avalon, head

She had to talk to Sonny.

Herne was a mortal. A prince in the world of

The fog dispersed and Hernes ancient world faded into nothingness.

That night proved easy by Janus standards.

Kelley didnt mind that she still had to help out

I only need to know two things, the Fennrys Wolf

There was a knock on the door.

How could you not have suspected that there was something

Tyff? Kelley asked as her roommate deftly pinned her hair

Herne wore a deep-green sleeveless tunic that fell in folds

The band played beautiful music.

Tyffanwy had gone so far as to tie a little

Will you walk with me, lady? Herne bowed his head

Herne! Sonny shouted above the din. Where is she?

The notes of the war horn tore at Kelley. She

Sonnys boots touched lightly down on the solid ground. They

P ucks tortured words rang in Kelleys ears as she lifted her head, struggling against the darkness that threatened to descend upon her. She stared in horror as the Central Park Carousel shuddered in the cloud-shattered moonlight. Though no one was there to operate the machinery, the platform lurched into motion and the painted horses began to bob up and down. The gilt and jeweled trappings of saddles and bridles glimmered, winking at Kelley like hundreds of wicked, malevolent eyes.

In the sky above the merry-go-round, amid clouds bruised purple and black by the violent winds, a figure appeared, hovering in the air astride a fiery roan horse. Kelley felt the hot sting of tears on her cheeks as she looked up and met the eyes of the Rider. He stared down at hercold, pitiless, with no hint of recognition in his beautiful, haunted face.

Beneath him, driven to madness by the presence of the Rider on his back, the Roan Horse screamed defiance. Bucking and rearing, it lashed out with hooves of flame.

The carousel began to turn.

In the distance, Kelley heard the sound of the hunting hounds.

The Rider drew his sword, the blade flaring like a firebrand. Kelleys breath strangled in her throat as the carousel began to spin faster and faster.

Smoky, glittering figures coalesced out of the air to ride the painted mounts. Bloodthirsty and red-eyed, brandishing swords of flame, their joy was a terrible thing to behold. Beneath them the wooden horses transformed, snorting furiously and stamping hooves on the spinning carousel platform.

Then they burst forth. Legs churning, they galloped madly into the night, climbing an unseen path into the heart of the roiling storm.

After centuries spent imprisoned, locked in the chains of uneasy, enchanted sleep, the Wild Hunt was awake.

It was Samhain. Tonight they would ride out. Tonight they would kill. Nothing in the world could stop the Faerie war bandnot with the Rider and the Roan Horse at their head.

I am feared in field and town.

Goblin, lead them up and down .